Like any other animated series, I figured BoJack Horseman must also be a generic American show curated for children. A combination of animal and human characters, each with their peculiar storyline; catchy tunes and vibrant backdrops; and a theme as crude as it can be: BoJack Horseman is dedicated to covering some of the most sensitive, gut-wrenching realities of being human camouflaged under a comical hood.
To introduce you to the show, BoJack Horseman is an American adult comedy-drama television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, with 6 seasons running from 2014 to 2020. Initially, I was reluctant to dive into its concept as such because I never honestly imagined goofy animated characters of a show exposing its audience to complicated human emotions and the brutality of this journey called life.
BoJack Horseman, a humanoid horse, who once starred in a 90s sitcom called Horsin’ Around brings to life the complexities there are to once being a celebrity and the pain of being forgotten that follows, but it is only of the themes that he touches upon. To me, he describes to us more than I can process in the moment. A plethora of emotions packed in each episode!
As a character, BoJack depicts his childhood trauma seeping through all layers of his existence. Coming from two self-absorbed parents, BoJack turns out to be no different. There are so many perspectives to this show and BoJack Horseman as a representation, siding with one of the possibilities is no less than difficult. I believe therein lies the beauty of this show, we take from it what we want.
We are allowed to separate the good from the bad, cheer for our favourite characters to triumph and criticize them equally for their choices, see a reflection of ourselves in each of them, and somehow continue to be surprised.
Every character is unique and different, yet somehow the same. They all have their own hardships to deal with. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, making it excruciatingly difficult for us to dislike any of them with respect to what they portray. There are no sugarcoated emotions. A narrative as realistic as such is hard to find.
The show is honest. The underlying message however is that we cannot choose where or what we come from, but we can choose not to repeat the pattern; or can we truly?
It is for the audience to decide.